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Scotland (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Scotland => Aberdeenshire => Topic started by: ter153 on Saturday 05 June 10 18:21 BST (UK)
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hi all.
does anyone have any information on a place called ''blankets'' in oldmeldrum? my great grandad worked there as a lad and his father before him i think,my grt grandfather worked there untill he joined up in 1911,his name was james shepherd his father called john,dont know if from the area but his daughter born 1922 had links with methlick but later moved to aberdeen where she raised a family (bit of a scandal surrounding granny ive found out while doing my research lol) just wanted to know about the place grt granda worked and lived and if its still there,would be great if anyone new anything thanks very much
teresa
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Hi, if you click on this link you'll get a super view of Blankets!
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&tab=wl
Here's another useful site showing some more photos of the area.
http://www.geograph.org.uk/gridref/NJ8026
Regards,
flst
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thankyou for those links flst :)
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Blankets today is a private house. I'm not sure if it ever was a farm. As far as I know, the lands on one side belong to North Mains of Barra, and the other side belong to Redhouse farm.
It is surrounded by trees so it's difficult to get a proper photograph, but this is one taken from the Inverurie road. According to an old farmer that I knew, the road is much changed now, but at one time it went over to Blankets, probably near where the electricity pole is in the photo, before turning sharp left to Oldmeldrum. Unfortumately, this old farmer is no longer with us, so I can't get any more information I'm afraid.
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Have you managed to find your ancestors in the 1901 census?
flst
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Go to www.oldmaps.co.uk and enter Oldmeldrum. Select the address in the drop down list. Maps
6-8 show Blankets from 1901-1928. Don't think it exists now, but there is a childrens' playbarn, called 'Hoodles' very close to where it appears on these maps. It is an actual barn conversion so may be where or near to where Blankets was.
Oldmeldrum Library Headquarters would be your best bet for getting the correct info. I'm sure they'd help over the phone.
McGraw
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hi teresa,i saw you were looking for info re blankets farm,and your grt grandad working there before he joined up,if you look on this site,4th page ROLLS OF THE GORDON HIGHLANDERS,1914-1918 BY WINDSOR87,you will find mention of james,his war injurys,married to agnes henderson,he was born blankets farm,eva
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Did a bit more asking around today & Blankets is still a farm today & in fact I know the people who own it. I will ask if they have any info on it or if I can get a photo for you, if you'd like. Bare with me & I'll try my best.
McGraw
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Blankets was a farm belonging to the Barra estate, in the parish of Bourtie (now merged with Meldrum). It got its name simply because at one time they made blankets there.
Barra was in the hands of the Ramsay family and descendants from 1750 up until 2007 (though Ramsay of Barra moved from the castle to the Georgian grandeur of Straloch in 1766 - but descendants came back to the castle much later as the family's fortunes declined).
There is a wonderful history of Bourtie parish and its farms in the book "Bourtie Kirk: 800 Years" by Marian Youngblood, published by Cleopas Publications in 1995 (the book deals with much more than the kirk). It is sold by the Aberdeen & North-East FHS.
Ian
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hi guys
thanks very much for all the great information and help given to me,sorry i haven replied sooner been busy lol.mcgraw i would love a picture that would be great thanks very much! Eva,thanks for the info.Rowana,thanks for your info too,Ian,ill see if i can get a copy of the book you mentioned.my maternal grandparents are burried at Newhills cemetery,and my mother did mention that my grt grandparents were there too,have just remembered this! but not sure if its james and agnes or not,but i will have to have a search and see if i can find them! and now its the summer hols ill have to try and get a look at blankets,thanks to every one again for the info and advice im very grateful :) :)
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By the way. In 1757 a Hellen Alexander was born at Blankets to a William Alexander. I'm keen to know more about these particular Alexanders should any reader come across this. I've written a history of the Alexanders of Bourtie but the ones at Blankets are a mystery.
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hello re the photos of the area posted earlier in fact these are photos of the area I took and posted on geograph if any more are required Id be happy to help . I live just around the corner . Regards Andy
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thanks for everyones replies and help :)
havent been able to do much researching lately so have gotten a bit rusty :)
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Hi my parents own Blankets and I'm currently sitting in the kitchen of Blankets replying to you. :)
I was trying to find out why this place is called Blankets when I came across this link.
My parents have owned this house for over 10 years now but there is so much they do not know, but if you still want some information we might be able to help.
Hope to hear from you soon
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Hi & welcome to rootschat! The author of this post hasn't been on here since March, but that doesn't mean they won't be back on! These posts aren't deleted which makes it easier to find things when you use a search engine. You'll find that here's always something interesting to read on these forums :)
flst
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Coincidence ? I've been trying to find gr grandad Alexander Morrison in 1861, when he would have been mid teens. Not with parents, so must be working somewhere, training to be a blacksmith ( see my first ever post for him in Stonehaven).
Anyway, last night I found him, as a ploughman working for the Walker family at North Mains of Barra, next to Blankets farm, according to Rowana.
I googled and got a picture of a lovely cottage! I'm wondering if it's the house the Walkers lived in, and also what the word "Mains" means.
Being on the other side of the world (kangaroo island) is not so bad when I've got RootsChat and google earth! :) Anne